I cannot express strongly enough how cheap and pathetic the DVD release of "The Black Stallion" is. The image is dirty and not well-restored. The widescreen version is FAKE as well. It's just the standard version cropped. Also, there's no special features whatsoever. Most of all, it was released in 1997, a time when DVDs were practically newborn. It's at least 10 years past due for a proper release. I really wish they'd get it right.
shareYeah, it wasn't restored at all. I like it in a way, it gives it a nostalgic value, but it really is inexcusable not to restore and remaster such a gem.
And the whole cropped in full version for the widescreen really is pathetic on their part.
The sad thing is that they probably never will release it in it's full glory on DVD.
EDIT:
Just read this on another thread, very interesting.
Re: Black Stallion Widescreen ?
by malbox4me-imdb (Tue Jul 5 2005 15:14:49)
I recently ran a 35mm print of THE BLACK STALLION at screening where its director, Caroll Ballard was present. There's a very simple explanation for all this aspect ratio confusion. The film was shot full frame 35mm or to put it another way--in a 3x4 (TV) aspect ratio. BUT- the shots were composed in the camera using 1:85 guidelines superimposed over the image in the viewfinder. This gives both a standard (TV) and 1:85 capibility from the same film. The 35mm print has a full size image on it- - but was intended to be shown in theatres with a 1:85 lenses & aperture plates. On TV it was just shown using the full frame image. SO adding a black bar to the top & bottom of the picture for the widescreen video gives exactly the image the director intended. There was nothing to "pan&scan". I could have shown this movie in either 1:33 or 1:85, but after checking with the director he said it was really intended to be shown in the 1:85 aspect. The only difference between the two versions is that you're going to see more sky and more foreground in the 1:33 version. Adding the "black bar" to the top & bottom of the video version was not some cheap shortcut- - it was what the director & cinematographer intended.
That's all well and good, but the black bars are part of the image on the widescreen DVD, which means that you have to zoom in on widescreen TV, resulting in a lower quality image.
shareThe proper term for that is 'letterboxed' when it is widescreen aspect in a full screen setting.
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=30520828
Beserker, why would you have to zoom in on it? Why can't you just watch it normally? I've seen lots of letterboxed movies. I've never zoomed in to cut out the black bars. When a movie is letterboxed, that's often the intention of the director. To cut it down to "fit" the screen is doing everything the director didn't want, and often results in large parts of the shot missing.
shareHes talking about watching it on a widescreen tv - if you don't zoom in, the image is a rectangle in the middle of the screen, with hefty black bars on left & right as well as top & bottom.
If it was a decent widescreen image, the image would fill almost the entire screen and there would be no need for black bars.
You should read posts more carefully before speaking up next time, kid. And probably buy a widescreen tv while you're at it.